LONDON -- Friday's fall on Wall Street meant the U.K. got off to a bad start, but by the end of the session the London markets had managed to claw their way back to end roughly unchanged.
The
FTSE 100
closed up 2.9 points, or 0.1%, at 6,381.30, while the
Techmark
was virtually unchanged at 3,752.01. However, it was an unimpressive low-volume start to the week and it's hard to read too much into today's movements.
Telecom stocks suffered early on as negativity swept the sector following a slump in the price of
Deutsche Telekom
(DT) - Get Report
. The German leviathan fell heavily on fears that it will run into regulatory problems over its takeover of the
Voicestream Wireless
(VSTR)
. There are also some concerns that at $50.7 billion Deutsche Telekom may be paying too much for its target. Deutsche Telekom tanked 5.87 euros, or 10.6%, to 49.40 ($46.27).
British Telecom
(BTY)
, which is increasingly starting to look like a stock that few want in their portfolios, closed 8p lower, or 0.9%, at 890 ($13.44). Footsie heavyweight
Vodafone AirTouch
(VOD) - Get Report
also started the day under the cosh, despite several buy recommendations from brokers. But news that Holland's auction for third-generation mobile telephone licenses had cost telecom companies considerably less than originally forecast provided enough of a fillip to help the stock close up 6p, or 2.0%, at 302.
Marconi
also continued its recent good run after announcing a deal, said by the company to be worth around
2 billion, to build a fiber-optic network for British Telecom. Marconi closed 49p higher, or 5.0%, at
10.25.
However,
Telewest Communications
(TWSTY)
,
Cable &Wireless
(CWP)
and
Colt Telecom
(COLTY)
all remained firmly down in the dumps. In percentage terms, Telewest was the main index's biggest faller, its cause not helped by a downgrade from HSBC. The stock closed down 12p, or 5.1%, at 223, while C&W eased 44p, or 3.3% to
12.81 and Colt shed 35p, or 1.4%, to
24.00.
Speculation continued about what will be the eventual outcome of the decision last week by media companies
Carlton Communications
(CCTVY)
and
United News & Media
(UNEWY)
to call off their proposed merger because of regulatory problems.
Granada Media
is viewed as the most likely predator with United Media as its prey. Granada finished down 11p, or 1.8%, at 602, United closed 32p higher, or 3.3%, at 990, while Carlton finished 2p lower, or 0.3%, at 800.
Europe's other major stock markets closed mixed, with the
CAC 40
in Paris closing up 38.5, or 0.6%, at 6,502.6. Late in the German trading session, the
Xetra Dax
in Frankfurt was down 42.6, or 0.6%, at 7,330.7 and the Neuer Markt's tech-heavy
Nemax 50
index was 6.6 higher, or 0.1%, at 6,255.8.
France Telecom
(FTE)
closed up 4.00 euros to 146.50 and
Telefonica
(TEF) - Get Report
climbed 0.25 euros to 24.76.
Finnish telco outfit
Sonera
(SNRA)
slumped 6.70 euros, or 13%, to 44.90 after announcing disappointing first-half results and issuing a gloomy outlook for the rest of the year.
In Frankfurt, software maker
SAP
(SAP) - Get Report
rose 5.38 euros, or 2.2%, to 253.00, but
DaimlerChrysler
(DCX)
dropped 1.70 euros, or 2.8%, to 57.36 amid concerns about the carmaker's upcoming second-quarter figures.
HypoVereinsbank
(HVMGY)
fell 3.40 euros, or 5%, to 64.80 after announcing it would take over
Bank Austria
, that country's largest bank. The merged bank will be a major player in Eastern Europe. Bank Austria shares trading in Frankfurt were up 5.80 euros, or 10.6%, at 60.80.
